Story by Karen Cossey | Copyright © Karen Cossey, 2014

Morris the little monkey woke up when the sun was high in the sky. Another lovely day. Perfect for playing hide and sneak. He swung from tree to tree in search of his friends.

First, he came across Henry the hippopotamus.

“Let’s play hide and sneak!” he called out from the top of a tree.

“Not today, Morris,” boomed Henry. “There’s only three more days till the big fishing competition. I’ve got to clean my boat and check for leaks. You should do the same, don’t you think?”

“Nah, I’ll do it tomorrow.”

Just then, Lucas the lion strolled over.

“There’s no way you’d get me anywhere near the water, even in a boat,” he shivered. “Let’s play, Morris.”

So they played hide and sneak until the sun slunk away.

The next day was sunny again, perfect for racing games. Morris came across Rose the rhino first.

“Want to race, Rose?” he asked excitedly.

“Not today thanks, Morris. It’s only two more days until the big fishing competition. I need to fix my motor and get my gear together. I don’t want to forget anything! Shouldn’t you be getting ready?”

“Nah, I’ll do it tomorrow. Today’s a wonderful day for racing.”

Lucas the lion was nearby, lounging in the sun. He enjoyed racing games too, so they played until dinnertime.

Morris woke up the next morning to clear skies. Perfect for sliding down Big Hill on banana leaves. Off he swung to find Zach the zebra. Zach loved sliding down Big Hill.

“No, not today,” Zach said when Morris found him. “Only one day until the fishing competition. I need to untangle my lines and mend my net. Shouldn’t you be getting ready?”

“Nah, I’ll do it tomorrow, before the competition starts. It’s the best day ever for sliding down Big Hill.”

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As he was leaving, he came across Lucas again. Off they went to Big Hill together. They found some banana leaves and raced each other up and down the hill, slipping and sliding all day. When Morris was too tired to walk up Big Hill, Lucas carried him on his back so they could slide some more. What a blast! It was an exhausted Morris who climbed into bed that night.

When he woke up late the next morning, he noticed the sun so bright in the sky again. A perfect day for playing, he thought to himself. Then he remembered! It was the day of the big fishing competition! He loved the fishing competition. Last year he’d won a prize. It was time to get his boat sorted out.

He found it where he’d left it after his last trip. It was full of old leaves because he hadn’t covered it over. It took him a while to tidy it. Lucas wandered past as he was finishing and helped him drag it to the water. His friends were there with their smart looking boats glistening in the sun.

“Morris, we thought you wouldn’t make it!” Rose the rhino said. “The competition is about to start. You made sure your boat had no leaks, didn’t you?”

“Oh no, I forgot! Will you help me?”

“I’ll do it with you tomorrow, Morris. I’ve got to line up now.” She plodded over to her boat.

Morris checked over his boat. He saw three tiny holes. He stuffed them with old leaves scrunched up in mud.

As he was finishing, the starting buzzer sounded, and the motors of all the boats zoomed into life. Everyone whizzed off to their favorite fishing spot.

Morris pulled on his motor cord. It coughed and spluttered, but would not start, no matter how hard he tried. So, he pulled out his oars. He could make it to his nearby fishing spot by rowing.

When he got there, he picked up his fishing rod. His fishing line was twisted—and he didn’t have any bait.

Henry the hippopotamus floated past in his boat. He had caught an enormous fish and was taking it to the judges to be weighed.

“Can you help me, Henry?” Morris called. “My line’s tangled and I’ve no bait.”

“I’ll help you tomorrow, Morris,” came Henry’s reply. “I’m on my way now. Here’s some bait, though.” He passed him a packet before motoring off as fast as a big hippopotamus in a small boat could.

It took Morris ages to untangle his lines. He was concentrating so hard that he didn’t notice the water leaking into the bottom of his boat until he’d finished. It was only then that he realized his feet were wet!

“Oh no,” he groaned. “I better get rid of that water.” He looked around for his bucket, but it wasn’t there.

Zach the zebra motored over to him.

“Please help me, Zach,” Morris called. “I’m taking on water.”

Zach peered into his boat.

“You’ll be alright; I can’t stop now. I’ll give you a hand fixing the leak tomorrow. Here’s my bucket, though.”

Off zoomed Zach. Morris bucketed and bucketed. He had tipped out most of the water when the hole burst and turned into a gaping mouth gushing water faster than Morris could bail it out. His boat was sinking, so he tightened the straps on his life jacket and jumped into the water. Brrr, it sure was cold! He rolled over onto his back and started to kick himself towards land.

Suddenly he heard Lucas calling out to him, and then there he was in a dinghy, reaching out to help him.

“I thought you didn’t like the water?” Morris gasped.

“I don’t, but I saw you jump out of your boat through my binoculars, and I knew that rescuing you was the one job I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to do.”

Morris shook his head sadly. “From now on, there are lots of jobs I won’t be leaving until tomorrow.”

*****

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